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Cuomo Urges Private Universities To Switch To Fully-Remote Learning After Thanksgiving

A sign asking people to wear masks and socially distance on the campus of Columbia University in New York, New York, USA, 23 July 2020. Schools and colleges around the country are trying to navigate how students can return to in-person classes in the fall, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread in the United States. — JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Published Nov 7, 2020

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New York’s private universities and colleges need to decide whether to hold in-person classes after Thanksgiving break, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Friday, as COVID-19 rates increase around the state and country.

Cuomo urged private universities and colleges to follow the lead that SUNY has set for its 64 institutions, including its four campuses in New York City, to go all-remote after Thanksgiving and shutting down residential facilities except for students with special circumstances.

“Go home for Thanksgiving. Don't come back. Go to remote learning, and then we'll figure out next semester, next semester,” Cuomo said in a press briefing with reporters Friday.

With every state except for Maine and Vermont reporting higher infection rates than New York, Cuomo said he’s worried that that holiday travel will lead to increases in COVID-19 infections. The state reported a 1.99% positivity rate Thursday.

“I am asking private colleges to review what SUNY did and take that action into consideration, but announce what their policy is going to be, because I need to make a decision whether the state should set a policy for private colleges,” Cuomo said. “To send children home for Thanksgiving, to then bring them back basically for a couple of weeks from across the country, and then end this semester literally two, three weeks later -- it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. The SUNY policy does make sense. I applaud them for that. I'd like to hear what the private colleges are thinking.”

The SUNY system will test students before they leave for the holiday. “They're going to test every student on the way out. So students that are infected will know where they're going and what to do and how to get there,” Cuomo said.

"While we understand there is a lot of focus on plans for the spring semester, we must first finish this semester safely," SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras said in a message posted online October 27th.

CUNY has been all-remote this semester, with some exceptions for lab-based classes.

Columbia University is holding classes per usual after their Thanksgiving break, and reminded students of the state’s updated travel quarantine protocols. “We strongly urge you to limit travel. Undergraduates currently living in Columbia’s dormitories must take particular care,” Columbia officials told students in a message on October 29th. “We also recommend that if you leave campus for Thanksgiving, you get tested before you depart from Columbia, especially if you will be participating in any indoor gatherings or sharing living quarters with persons at risk for complications from COVID-19.”

NYU also is holding classes after the holiday, but the university has canceled spring break next year. The school will instead schedule two breaks over long weekends instead of an entire week off.

“Spring break travel would substantially increase the risk of bringing the coronavirus back to our campus community and the communities around us. It would also mean yet another 14-day period of quarantine in the middle of the semester for all those returning from hotspot states,” NYU’s President Andrew Hamilton said in a letter to NYU parents last month. “Even if it comes as disappointing news and represents a sacrifice, this step is so important to keeping everyone safe and avoiding illness and disruption in the spring semester.”